Jones could be the first Black player ever taken No. 1 in the NHL draft

Portland Winterhawks defenseman Seth Jones (3) celebrates his goal with teammate Nicolas Petan (19) during the second period of Memorial Cup final hockey game against the Halifax Mooseheads in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Jones, the son of former NBA basketball player Ronald “Popeye” Jones, is likely to be No. 1 pick in the NHL draft, which will be held in Newark, N.J., on June 30. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Derek Mortensen, File)

by Dan GelstonAP Sports Writer

By chance, Ronald “Popeye” Jones bumped into Joe Sakic in the weight room of the arena in Denver way back when.

It shouldn’t have been a big deal. After all, Jones’ Denver Nuggets and Sakic’s Colorado Avalanche shared the Pepsi Center.

Jones, a 6-foot-8 power forward, had more than casual conversation in mind for their first meeting almost 13 years ago, though. He told Sakic, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, that he had two young boys who wanted to play hockey and no clue how to help them.

“He looked at me all the way up and into my eyes,” Jones said. “He saw how big I was. He said, ‘He’s going to be huge. Make sure he knows how to skate.'”

So Jones signed up his boys, including youngest, Seth, for skating lessons. Sakic’s small piece of advice turned around one boy’s direction.

Now, it’s Seth’s turn to return the favor for an organization.

The 18-year-old Jones has grown into one of the top prospects in hockey and is the consensus No. 1 pick in the NHL draft later this month.

That pick belongs to the Avalanche — now led by Sakic, the team’s former captain who was recently promoted to executive vice president of hockey operations.

“All the goals he’s set as a hockey player,” Popeye said, “he’s been able to accomplish.”

How’s that for a proud pop?

Popeye, Seth’s mother and other friends and relatives will attend the June 30 draft at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Popeye worked last season as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets and lives about 20 minutes from the draft site.

Dad was a second-round pick, 41st overall. Seth could be the first Black player ever taken No. 1 in the NHL draft.

“I’m trying to embrace it,” Seth said. “It’s going to be fun in New Jersey, for sure. I can’t wait to share those experiences with my family.”

It may be a pretty big family reunion in Denver. Jones’ older brother, Justin, also played hockey and they all got along with Patrick Roy’s family as they grew up. The Roys and Joneses were close and spent time at each other’s houses, in fact. And it just so happens that Roy — a former goaltender who also won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche — was just hired to coach Colorado after the rebuilding franchise missed the playoffs.

“Jones is a heck of a player,” Roy said. “No matter what the decision for our organization — are we going to keep first overall, are we going to move first overall, whatever we’re going to do, we know that the team that picks first, second or third are going to get three outstanding players.”

Jones, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin are expected to go 1-2-3 in the draft. The Florida Panthers hold the second draft pick and the Tampa Bay Lightning are No. 3.

Based on talent and need, Jones shouldn’t drop past the Avalanche. The 6-foot-4, 206-pound defenseman met with members of the Avalanche scouting team last month before moving on to the NHL draft combine in Toronto.

He would become the first American picked No. 1 since Chicago’s Patrick Kane in 2007 and seventh overall. In a sport where the majority percentage of players are White, it’s that slice of history he would make as the first Black selected No. 1 — topping Evander Kane, picked fourth 2009 — that means so much to both of them.

“I don’t think about it too much,” Seth said. “Hopefully, I can encourage young African-Americans to play hockey and try it when they’re at a young age. It’s definitely a White-dominated sport. But there are a lot more that are starting to play.”

Kane, Pittsburgh’s Jarome Iginla, Philadelphia’s Wayne Simmonds and Washington’s Joel Ward are among the more prominent Black players in the NHL. Ward was the victim of a series of racist tweets during last year’s playoffs after scoring the winning goal in Game 7 against Boston. During a preseason game last year, a fan threw a banana on the ice at Simmonds. Those are gloomy signs that, unlike the other big three sports, tolerance is a still a problem.